Tag Archives: Unveiling

Samsung announcement for the London premiere of new Galaxy and ATIV devices

For the past couple of months now at Pure Mobile, Samsung's Galaxy S4 has been the big talk. We've practically been eating, sleeping and breathing Galaxy S4 cases and accessories since the device's launch. And, as of this month, Galaxy S4 sales had started to close in on those of the iPhone 5.

But we can hardly expect this to be the last of Samsung's successes. And the company announced today that it will be holding an upcoming roadshow event, the "Premiere 2013" in London next month.

The teaser poster for the June 20th event mentions Galaxy and ATIV devices, so we're pretty sure the company will be unveiling its latest Android and Windows devices. As for the teaser pics on the poster, which don't exactly spell things out, Engadget thinks they could relate to a a tablet or phone, laptop, and camera:

Oh, and speaking of rumors...before its official unveiling, Samsung was touting the Galaxy S4 as "the next big thing." But a recent leak could suggest that that Galaxy S4's successor could actually be the next little thing.

According to BGR, which cites various sources, "Samsung is working on half a dozen different versions of its new flagship Galaxy S4 smartphone, including a more manageable variant called the Galaxy S4 mini."

And the fact that the device – presumably a smaller-scale version of the Galaxy S4 – actually briefly showed up online in Samsung's official app catalogue for the UK indicates that this is more than mere rumor. Indeed, as BGR put it, "the phone has now been confirmed by Samsung, albeit accidentally."

So while we at Pure Mobile will probably still be obsessing over the Galaxy S4 and Galaxy S4 accessories for the next month or so, we've got a feeling that, come the London event, we'll have an all new lineup of Samsung smartphones, tablets and other devices to sweep us off our feet.

Perhaps marking one of the most important milestones they've ever had, BlackBerry maker RIM held its long-anticipated BlackBerry Experience event today in Manhattan. As promised, the company unveiled its two newest BlackBerry phones, the BB10-powered Z10 and Q10 handsets.

But what's really got the mobile industry bubbling is the Z10, since it's the first ever BlackBerry phone without a physical QWERTY keyboard. "Gone is the impish keyboard, loved and loathed alike, to be replaced by the now ubiquitous display," writes the Huffington post, with one of their live bloggers at the event adding, "The handset looks impressive for the company's first major foray into the keyboard-less phone area."

After a few years lagging behind the likes of Android and Apple, BlackBerry 10 is being lauded as "RIM's latest, best comeback attempt," (BusinessWeek) and its star attraction is this glossy, sleek, new all touch phone. Oh, and by the way, it's not RIM anymore, it's just BlackBerry.

So, what, exactly was revealed today about the Z10, BlackBerry's great new hope?

For starters, its display has better resolution than that of the iPhone 5 (1280 x 768 vs. 1136 x 640.) Slim and sleek, it sports a 4.2" screen and boasts textured surface that's easy to grip feels good in hand.

And, as though to completely demolish the perception that BlackBerry's all about keypads and physical buttons, the new Z10 heavily stresses swiping rather than button pushing. You don't even have to push a button to turn it on, just swipe up!

But one of the best features of BB10, which applies to both the Z10 and QWERTY-touch Q10 phones, is the way it lets the user manage apps. All apps are integrated into the BlackBerry 10 "hub," so that app notifications and emails are easily accessed with a single swipe, even when another app is open. "You are only one swipe away from the heart of your activities," said CEO Thorsten Heins of this new innovation.

Already, the Z10 has been praised as "striking," "powerful," and "beautiful." And from what we've seen, we at Pure Mobile have to agree. Of course, the phone will only become available in the U.S. as of March. But if you're as excited as we are, hold tight, because we're already lining up accessories for BlackBerry Z10 in time for its release.

Despite what the rumor mill would have you believe, the unveiling of the Galaxy S IV is not imminent. A couple of days ago, we reported that Samsung had released a teaser video, telling us to "get ready" because "the world awaits [...] something new" January 8 to 11, 2013.

Those are of course the dates for the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), a huge annual event for the consumer electronics industry, where, in the past, big players in mobile have unveiled new devices and accessories.

Needless to say, Samsung's promise of new and exciting developments started a whole whack load of speculation as to whether or not we might see the smartphone maker unveil a successor to the Galaxy S III – the Galaxy S IV.

Aside from the fact that the teaser video cited the dates of a major event where smartphone makers, including Samsung, have traditionally introduced their new hardware, we actually know that the company is preparing a new handset.

Hot off the presses, that's how we like our news at Pure Mobile. And it doesn't get much fresher than this: About an hour ago, BlackBerry maker RIM officially announced the launch event for their long-awaited new OS, BB10.

A couple of months ago, after postponing the release of BB10, RIM had simply alluded to a rescheduled launch date in early 2013. But we now know the event will go off January 30, simultaneously across several locations worldwide.

To go with the launch of BB10, RIM has also promised something many of us have been anticipating even more than the OS itself – two new BlackBerry smartphones that run on BB10.

Still from a video leaking BlackBerry's two new BB10 handsets

The devices have already significantly leaked in video and pictures, indicating that while one of the BlackBerry smartphones will have the company's signature Qwerty keypad, the other will be BlackBerry's first all-touch smartphone. Rumor aside, however, we'll actually get to see the real deal come January 30, when RIM promises "details of the smartphones and their availability will be announced."

As TechCrunch notes, because we've all had a chance to get familiar with the new smartphones' software (albeit through leaks), we can expect not only the availability for the devices but pricing as well.

Whether by accident or not, Apple seems to time its events to overshadow those of its competitors.

Here's the thing with Apple. Rumors surface, and create a little buzz, until one of its competitors announces news of their own, and the Apple rumor dies. And then wham! Apple comes out and makes the revelation everyone thought they would, trumping all the interest in whatever it was their competitor has just announced.

Pure Mobile reported yesterday that Samsung has sent out invitations for a special Galaxy Note II event in New York City scheduled for October 24. It's the kickoff to the the new device's world tour, and was likely to get the lion's share of tech reporting and headline space. Until...

Well, it turns out that the Galaxy Note II will have to share the spotlight, since Apple's just announced it will be holding an event for the iPad Mini – get this – October 23.

Likely to be unveiled October 23, Apple's iPad Mini is expected to be slightly smaller and slightly cheaper than its predecesor

When we initially reported on rumors of an iPad Mini event, we cited Forbes (among others) who said to expect invitations to start rolling out on the October 10. That makes us only a couple of days behind schedule.